Publishing Industry Reporting

To mark the 10-year anniversary of this newsletter’s launch, here’s a look at some of the biggest industry changes in the past decade.

Simon & Schuster’s CEO Jonathan Karp is stepping down to run his own imprint, Simon Six, as soon as a replacement can be found.

Tech studio Hidden Door is building immersive environments with choose-your-own-adventure stories based on famous public-domain works.

Scribner Editions will publish literary fiction and narrative nonfiction that plays with genre, form, and style.

The member-based nonprofit will be dedicated to “promoting literacy, amplifying Black voices, and preserving Black culture.”

HarperCollins grew profits by 10 percent in fiscal year 2025 but saw disappointing results in the fourth quarter, when earnings dropped 12 percent.

When crowdfunding publisher Unbound went bankrupt the former CEO purchased the assets for a new venture, which has also gone belly up.

One Word at a Time will provide educational resources to school libraries and help connect children’s readers and authors.

Solstice Books will publish sci-fi/fantasy, romantasy, and horror starting in spring 2026.

Together, they will bring Aethon’s biggest ebook and audiobook titles into print.

Romancing the Data has launched an event directory to help authors and readers find events in the US, Canada, and online.

A statement from the company says, “Our new logo is … fun, friendly, and focused on books—just like Goodreads.”

United Publishing Group brings together Forefront Books, Histria Books, and Unicorn Publishing Group in the UK.

Compared to last year, print book sales are down about 1 percent with adult nonfiction declining more than fiction.

With millions of writers and readers that Substack doesn’t monetize at all and that cost money to support, advertising is the next obvious step.

The adult-YA crossover imprint will publish fiction only, combining talent from Penguin’s Berkley and Penguin Young Readers imprints.

In the Kindle Top 100 bestsellers year to date, 61 percent of titles are romance—and everything else is likely to include romantic elements.

Every so often, the public is reminded that memoirs are not journalistic works and aren’t fact-checked by their publishers.

HarperCollins has partnered with Fox Entertainment on a food imprint, Bite Books, an extension of Fox’s brand Bite.

Agate Publishing has partnered with Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism to publish reported, short-length nonfiction books.

The publisher will share profits with authors 50-50, but only after costs are recouped.

Adult fiction sales were up by 1 percent, nonfiction sales fell about 3 percent, and religious books are up by 16 percent.

Ten years ago there was market enthusiasm and interest in mobile reading, but that market has cooled considerably.

In the lead: The Let Them Theory by Mel Robbins, with more than 1.7 million copies sold, one of only two nonfiction books on the list.

North Point Press is returning to life under FSG, which acquired its assets in 1992 but later stopped releasing new books under the imprint.